Forum content(?).

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 7:19 pm Post subject: Forum content(?).

Can no one think of anything to report on, moan about, gripe about, feel happy or the usual pissed off about?

John Murch · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 7:49 pm Post subject:

Well I'm happily planning a 120km drive on Friday (when down here in Southern France it will have stopped raining) into the mountains, a two hour walk in blissfull solitude surrounded by frangrant herbs and wonderfull views, followed by a leasurely lunch in a well recommended cafe then 120km back to base in the 3ltr. I'm as excited about it as when I first did something similar over 40 years ago. Life's good!
John.

John Robins · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:48 pm Post subject:

Today I had a very good lunch in a pub near Malvern Link with two friends, followed by a two hour tour of the Morgan factory, along with a dozen or so others. The gilt was scraped from the gingerbread by two things, 1) Finding out that I am now too stiff in the limbs to climb into a Morgan Plus Four with any semblance of dignity intact, let alone disembark from the thing, 2) the journey back to darkest Staffycher, leaving Malvern at 5pm being no fun at all.

Barrie Warrener · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 1:54 am Post subject:

Hello Chris.
Yes it can be a bit quiet on the forum......
I arrived at the very civilised London City airport with travelling companion back from Luxembourg where she has a home. I'd cocked-up my internet booking of an equally civilised Addison-Lee Ford Galaxy for the eight mile trip home and so had to take a black cab.
We were bundled into the cab with luggage (on wheels as most suit cases are these days) which took up our leg room and rolled around. It was raining and the cabin was steamed up with condensation, there was no air conditioning and in fact the heater only recirculates so to get ventilation we could only open the windows and so got wet (remember it was raining.) Luckily the man at the front was silent on matters of taxi-driver philosophy but the suspension wasn't so obliging. The wheel bearings rumbled in the background and the shock absorbers were knackered and faithfully transmitted every pot-hole directly up our spines despite the cab still having that new car smell. What a dreadfully old fashioned vehicle and how black cab drivers are pushing their luck to try and get Uber off the roads. How they've got the nerve to block the streets in their various strike actions I don't know!
So got home, paid driver more than any of the alternatives and promptly jumped into my S1 Flying Spur to restore my previous good mood. Works every time! Stopped at pub for delicious half pint.
There, I think I've gone through the whole list of your specification

Barrie Warrener · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 1:57 am Post subject:

Hello Chris.
Yes it can be a bit quiet on the forum......
I arrived at the very civilised London City airport with travelling companion back from Luxembourg where she has a home. I'd cocked-up my internet booking of an equally civilised Addison-Lee Ford Galaxy for the eight mile trip home and so had to take a black cab.
We were bundled into the cab with luggage (on wheels as most suit cases are these days) which took up our leg room and rolled around. It was raining and the cabin was steamed up with condensation, there was no air conditioning and in fact the heater only recirculates so to get ventilation we could only open the windows and so got wet (remember it was raining.) Luckily the man at the front was silent on matters of taxi-driver philosophy but the suspension wasn't so obliging. The wheel bearings rumbled in the background and the shock absorbers were knackered and faithfully transmitted every pot-hole directly up our spines despite the cab still having that new car smell. What a dreadfully old fashioned vehicle and how black cab drivers are pushing their luck to try and get Uber off the roads. How they've got the nerve to block the streets in their various strike actions I don't know!
So got home, paid driver more than any of the alternatives and promptly jumped into my S1 Flying Spur to restore my previous good mood. Works every time! Stopped at pub for delicious half pint.
There, I think I've gone through the whole list of your specification

Chris Card · Guest

And I'm in Windhoek using steam age internet, I've just put on the aircon as the temperature is pushing into the mid thirties, but we did have a little bit of rain last night, so when that passed we sat outside to eat our BBQ steaks, washed down with red plonk - life's tough out here.
When our friends arrive next week, we will pack the Defender with fridge, tent, food, wine, beer etc and head off into the bush and dry riverbeds for two weeks - just have to watch out for elephants, lions, snakes, scorpions and convoys of South African tourists on their big adventure, etc. Then, back to the UK, where we won't need aircon and we won't smile and jump about for joy, when it rains. But, if there's no salt on the roads, we will fire up the 4.5 and join our local Bentley pals for a pub lunch at the Stag, Balla Cross (place, not a medical emergency)! How many shopping days to Christmas?
I bet you feel really sorry for us!

Chris

John Murch · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:32 am Post subject:

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:36 am Post subject:

Has anyone seen the delightful film made around 1983,about S Africa and adjacent countries, by Jamie Uys called "The Gods Must Be Crazy"?

(Barrie receives a 5 point penalty for repetition!).

"Today I are mostly rebuilding a 4 1/4 axle for a 1934 Derby show car (sic), that arrived as a pile of pieces, together with £6777 new parts,and and 6 x MK VI /R Type gearboxes, in various state of distress, all before tea time."

James O'Neil · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:50 am Post subject:

Well done, Christopher, things were getting much too quiet and you've started something. I have little to contribute; I've just got back from Mauritius and am missing the warmth. A friend who was also there said he saw two Continental GTs but I didn't see anything remotely Bentley-related. I think it is the first country I've visited where old Land Rovers were conspicuously absent, which surprised me, as there was a strong UK influence there during the fifties and sixties and they would have been ideal vehicles for the territory, but I did see a couple of recent Defenders and Range Rovers. Which reminds me that I need to get the electrics sorted out on my Series IIa ready for winter, following the fitting of a replacement (galvanised) bulkhead.

Regards,

James

John Robins · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 1:24 pm Post subject:

Just off to the gym, to work off yesterday's sausage casserole with mashed swede, mashed pots, baby carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and roast beetroot.

Crikey!

2 1/2 hours later......

Back from the gym, managed to work off about 300 calories according to all the technology that they have there. I suppose that's about 1 of the sausages dealt with, or possibly the half pint of Banks's Mild I allowed myself as driver of the day. (I did also have a pint of lime juice cordial and water.) The alternative is to stop eating for a while and see if some of me can be persuaded to fade away, but I enjoy my food so s_d it. The real intention is to see if I can arrive at my next echocardiogram, booked in for next June, displaying some semblance of improvement in health.

It's nowt to do with trying to fit in that Morgan, honest!

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 6:06 pm Post subject:

James,

Some people can enjoy themselves.

John,
PE does nothing for weight loss (it pans out the day until the next trough-full), moderation and less chow, does.
I follow the carrot and stick diet,eat carrots and look like a stick!

A sausage casserole sounds yummy, with lots of Bisto gravy. Did you know that the French word for casserole is marmite?

John Robins · Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 7:22 pm Post subject:

Mais oui!

Apparently the late Brian Johnston used to pronounce the word in the French way, whether he meant the cooking implement or the brewing by-product.

The sausage casserole was a slight risk, since I had never before set foot in the establishment from whose kitchen it came, but proved excellent, and the side dish of vegetables all suited to the time of year was an appropriate accompaniment.

The staff of Morgan proved a cheery and expert lot, having parties of rubberneckers tramping through while you work must be a trial. I was surprised to see a manual gearbox offered for use with the big BMW V-8, sourced from the same company. You could also have a flappy paddle gearbox if you really insisted. Signs on the V-2 engine of the three wheeler to the effect that it gets hot amused us, the car looks great fun, but I could think of better uses for £30k+.

All things considered, a good day out, until we tried to drive home!

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 9:17 am Post subject:

Do you remember the unremitting furore following the visit by invitation, of Sir John Harvey Jones, who the Morgans had asked to advise on improvements to production?

Then, on a return visit two years later and the old Morgan had decided to retire, they both informed him that Jones had been correct all the time!

Not a peep from the hysterical press.

Paul Spencer · Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 5:03 pm Post subject:

This morning I was sorting out the garage to make room for the latest purchase - a series 2 Elise 111S. One of the last with the Rover engine in a very fetching metallic Bordeaux colour. Lower power (but much lighter) than the Toyota engine and probably less reliable, but it seems to suit the car better and you will always be able to get bits for it. Next week, the dealer is servicing the car, getting a new MOT and getting the wheels re-done (powder coated in black). Then I collect it on Friday.

Chris Card · Guest

Loads Of Trouble Usually Serious - only joking - enjoy.

Chris

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 5:13 pm Post subject:

Eaters?

John Murch · Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:36 pm Post subject:

Making the most of my last couple of weeks in France for the year.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/53146642@N06/22130970824/in/dateposted-public/

Barrie Warrener · Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:57 pm Post subject:

Lovely.
All that's missing is the Blue Train.

Chris Card · Guest

Just about to start packing the Defender for two weeks camping in the Namibian bush and desert before we return to the UK - taking some UK friends with us this trip.

Chris

John Murch · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 6:41 am Post subject:

That looks lovely, no AA recovery service out there?
John

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 9:18 am Post subject:

Has anyone seen that other film, called "Capricorns Beautiful People"? All about the creatures on the tropic, from the Skeleton Coast, to the East.

Paul Spencer · Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 9:34 am Post subject:

Chris Card · Guest

Chris Card · Guest

Just back in Windhoek and closing up the house, ready to fly home on Monday. While in the back of beyond, our friends Toyota holed it's radiator beyond repair. Half on gravel, we towed them over mountains and through dry rivers the 260km to Outjo, the nearest town with a garage/workshop. Arrived there at 16:00, the garage sourced a new radiator in Windhoek, which is 250km from Outjo, the rad arrived next morning on a truck and was fitted before lunch. How about that for service?

Just hope that the UK weather will be WO Bentley friendly when we get home.

Chris

John Robins · Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:10 pm Post subject:

Excellent service from Toyota, but the picture should be shown to a few Americans I know who are convinced that anything built in UK is unreliable junk.

John Robins · Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 4:11 pm Post subject:

John Murch · Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 5:36 pm Post subject:

How disappointing, I'm at Gatwick airport, but should be back in London in an hour or so and straight off to one of my favoured pubs (Union Tavern, Lloyd Baker St), wher I will get two excellent courses fot £9-, and the beer is good!

John Robins · Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2015 5:54 pm Post subject:

Have a good one, John!

Chris Card · Guest

Have just got back from our local reataurant in Windhoek - 2 x +/-350gm fillet steaks & chips - cooked to perfection (and you can't better Namibian steak) - bottle of Zoenerbloem Pinotage, bottle of still water + tip - less than £30.

Can't wait to get back to the uk on Tuesday for a decent pub lunch!

Chris

Michael Hicks · Joined: 10 Feb 2012 Posts: 24 Location: Somerset

spent the last week Servicing the B for its next run to Paris for New Year Cool

Barrie Warrener · Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 3:02 pm Post subject:

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 6:32 pm Post subject:

Resident of Namibia.

Chris Card · Guest

Vy couldn't the viper viper nose? 'Cause the adder adder 'ankerchief.

(Siedwinding horned adder waiting in ambush - watch where you walk in the sand - but they're only small)
Chris

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 8:54 am Post subject:

Ja!
It has a clever ambush trick, in that the tip of its tail resembles a blade of grass,which it erects above the surface of the dune.
So when a flying insect lands on the same, possibly attracted by a dew drop,it becomes a bite to eat.

Chris Card · Guest

They usually bury themselves by some dune grass, which gives them shade as well as their intended breakfast - lizards and mice. They are poisonous, but not really dangerous to us.
The photo shows the trail they leave in the sand by "sidewinding", which gives them more grip on the loose surface of a sand dune.

Chris

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 5:36 pm Post subject:

Breakfast! The sand is so hot that the lizard has to alternate its feet.

Chris Card · Guest

That sand can get so hot, that it will blister your feet - that clever lizard lifts diagonally opposite feet so as not to fall over!

Chris

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 12:19 pm Post subject:

There must have been a few that baked, before they caught on to the notion.

Chris Card · Guest

Dawin ruled OK.

Chris

Paul Spencer · Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 2:23 pm Post subject:

Reminds of a joke from my schooldays. A class is asked to make up a sentence containing the words behead, detail and defence.

Little Jonnie (it's always little Jonnie) came up with the sentence "Dehorse jumped over defence, behead before detail". The horse was clearly faster than the others and went on the gain Dawin.

Chris - no going back and editing your post!

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 6:55 pm Post subject:

Perhaps he meant "Dawkins"!!!.

Who said, "There is nothing wrong with defeat"?

(Just like the day dawns, cockcrow or not, Evolution didn't need or want Darwin).
(Neither did the Church, and humanity is still so unenlightened that we get blown to smithereens for some ridiculous mythological need to have opposing "religious" ideology).

Chris Card · Guest

Darwin - help - i've been defeated, again, by the "predictive text". I corrected the spelling twice and still got it wrong! I fear that I'm about to be phased out by evolution!

Chris

John Robins · Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 8:32 pm Post subject:

Paul Spencer · Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2015 10:28 pm Post subject:

Chris Card · Guest

That's a very corny old joke!

Chris

Paul Spencer · Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2015 8:20 am Post subject:

You've beaten me Chris. I just can't seem to nail down any more foot jokes. In fact, the sole one I can think of isn't even worthy of a Christmas cracker. Still, the hurt of this defeat will heal eventually.

What do you do when your Bentley breaks down? Of course, it doesn't, so lets say "what do you do when your friend's Toyota breaks down?"

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2015 8:52 am Post subject:

The chiropodist to (the late) Nelson Mandela. I like a bit of "corn"!

Chris Card · Guest

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 5:53 pm Post subject:

There was a global warming programme on TV last night showing the dried bed of a large reservoir in Namibia, cuboidal cracking and all.
Just like the dry rot in wood.

(Dry, rot?)

Chris Card · Guest

Didn't see the programme, but could have been the Avis Dam, which is close to where we live - never seen it dry before, but it is quite shallow. Earlier in the year there were about 50 pelicans and a pair of fish eagles there, as well as people fishing. It has been dry since August.

Five years ago they had to open the flood gates as it was dangerously high, and that flooded part of Windhoek and washed away some roads. But that year was one of exceptional rain . . .

Chris

Chris Card · Guest

Christopher Carnley · Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 8:57 am Post subject:

Sorry Chris, but I forgot to take notice. I flick through so many channels to find anything at all interesting.